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Discover the Book - December 11, 2011

2011Dec 11

COMMENTS

Joseph: The Quiet Man

As we open to Matthew 1, whenever I look at the cast of Christmas: one member stands out because he is so quiet.

Joseph is one of the main characters: he opens the Christmas story in Matthew 1 and closes the story in Luke 2. In case you didn’t know what that means, he’s in every scene in all 4 of the chapters devoted to Christ's birth. Joseph can be called:

The Quiet Man

But even though he is central to all the events, one of the key players, the first amazing fact is that Joseph has no recorded words. Joseph thinks, prays, and obeys: but never is recorded as saying anything.

I like to say that if I was ever asked to be in a Christmas play, Joseph is the part in the play I would choose because: he never said a word, he just stands there smiling and doing what he is told to do!

The second and even more amazing truth about Joseph is that the ONLY thing we are absolutely sure Joseph ever said was: Joseph was the first to declare the Name of JESUS. Just as the Scriptures say, it was on the 8th day after Christ's birth, when He was circumcised, that Joseph stepped forward and spoke the Name that is above every name and said His Name will be called: Jesus!

This season of remembering Christ's Birth, pause with me in God's Word and extract some powerful truths by observing what the Scriptures reveal and imply about this amazing young man Joseph, who walked with the Lord.

It was nearly 2,000 years ago that God spoke to a young, teenaged couple. They had been engaged for marriage since their childhood, by their parents. Marywas by all available data from this historic period somewhere between 14 and 17 years of age, and Joseph was most likely between the ages of 18 and 20.

Their lives up to this historic moment had been exemplary, in fact they were chosen by God because He knew He could count on them. Think about how many right choices Joseph had made at such a young age. He was not perfect, but he had chosen to respond properly to the authority around him—from his heart.

In Matthew 1:19 Joseph was described by God as “just”. He was a young man of conviction. He had chosen the path of practicing self-denial. God knew he was pure, had chosen pure habits, and fled sexual sins.

Those choices made him just the man God could use at this historic moment. And Mary was the same. She was a woman of the Word. She lived her faith, and considered herself a bond slave for the Lord. From God’s Word we find that:

Joseph’s Life is A powerful Example

1. Joseph sought the Lord with his problems (Matthew 1:18)

2. Joseph allowed the Lord to make him compassionate (Matthew 1:19)

3. Joseph listened to the Lord for His guidance (Matthew 1:20-23)

4. Joseph obeyed the Lord with his actions (Matthew 1:24)

5. Joseph honored the Lord by his obedience (Matthew 1:25)

6. Joseph waited on the Lord for His leading (Matthew 2:13-23)

7. Joseph followed the Lord’s directions for his family (Luke 2:27-41)